The Top Ten Project Awards are given annually at the State Conference in March to ten Student Councils who have been determined to have held and submitted one of the ten most outstanding projects during the school year.

Materials and Information for the 2009-2010 Top Ten Project Awards is available on Page 43 of the Guidebook.

The 2009 Recipients were (in no order):

• Greenfield High School
• Hopedale Junior Senior High School
• Marshfield High School
• Middleboro High School
• Oliver Ames High School
• Oxford High School
• Northbridge High School
• Shepherd Hill Regional High School
• Taunton High School
• West Boylston High School

Below is a brief description of each award-winning project:

“Think Safe, Think Smart, Think Sober” (Greenfield)
This program was designed to increase student safety behind the wheel in a program funded by Statefarm Insurance. After conducting a “spot-check” of students entering the parking lot the Student Council found only 36% of students wearing a seatbelt. A second “spot-check” found 70% of students wearing a seatbelt. Working with the school Math Department, the Student Council then designed and produced a seatbelt “Comfy Cover” in an attempt to make seatbelts fashionable. Money raised from these one-dollar sales was donated to MADD. Student Council Members also traveled to local elementary schools where they encouraged children to wear their seatbelts through songs, crafts, and books.

“Annual Turkey Run” (Hopedale)
This program was designed to supply needy families with baskets of food for Thanksgiving. Four teams of Council Members were able to collect 18 baskets of goods by collecting donations from local businesses in a “Turkey Run”. All Student Council Members, the Student Council Advisor, additional students, and the community were able to participate in the event and make it a success.

“Powder Puff Football” (Marshfield)
This event raises local scholarship money while increasing school spirit. Female students in grades 9-12 joined teams of 25 and paid $12 to play. The fee covered personalized shirts for each player. Teams practiced in the weeks leading up to the event and the event was marketed both in the school and community. Two games were held while Student Council Members volunteered to help with the game or concession stand created by their donations. Attendees bought admission tickets for $5. A profit of over a thousand dollars was given to seniors as scholarship money. Students, council members, families, faculty, and administration were all involved in the event and in attendance.

“Halloween Fun-Fest” (Middleboro)
This event is designed to provide local children and families a safe environment for celebrating Halloween. On the night before the holiday, the community was invited to the school cafeteria for a night of crafts, games, and candy. Children came dressed in their costumes and were first asked to design their own candy bag. Numerous stations were set up around the cafeteria ranging from making lollipop-ghosts to a bean-bag toss into a jack-o-lantern wooden board. Each station was manned by Student Council Members. The event was held free of charge and involved the community, Student Council Members, the school’s environmental club, and faculty.

“Talent 4 A Cure” (Oliver Ames)
This event was designed to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. A talent show was held in the school’s auditorium featuring not only Oliver Ames students but students from Sharon, King Phillip, and Mansfield high schools. Each school was allowed to bring three acts to the show following guidelines set by Oliver Ames. Each Student Council selected the acts that would represent their school and worked together to promote the event. The show was headlined by the popular dance crew “Status Quo” who had recently appeared on MTV. The auditorium was filled to capacity after 1,200 tickets were sold and over $10,000 was given to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, their largest single-day high school donation in history. Student Council Members, students, faculty, administration, participants, and the community of four high schools were involved in making the event a success.

Pirate’s Voyage (Oxford)
This event was designed to ease the tensions of eighth graders about to enter the high school. Incoming freshman were invited to the high school two days before school started while their parents met with the principal. Students were divided into teams, given directions, and sent on a “quest” around the school. At each point on the “quest” teams were asked to play simple games. The event familiarized the freshman with the school and allowed them to bond with each other and the Student Council Members who had volunteered.

Dance-A-Thon (Northbridge)
This event was designed as both a Student Council Fundraiser and Community Service Project benefitting the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation. Each Student Council Member was asked to fundraise for the event and proceeds were split between the EBMRF and Student Council. Students came dressed in “Roaring 20s” Costumes and competitions were held throughout the eight-hours of dancing. A student council member volunteered to DJ and breaks were given every hour and for dinner. Student Council Members, Students, Faculty and the community were involved in the process.

“Fright-Night Festival” (Shepherd Hill)
This event was designed to create an exciting environment for students to showcase their talents with film. All students were invited to create a short horror film to be shown at the event. Films were submitted and reviewed for content. During the week before Halloween, students were invited to attend the film festival in the school auditorium where tickets were sold. Pizza and soda were provided and eight films were shown and judged. Student Council Members planned, promoted, and volunteered at the event. Students, faculty, and the community were invited to attend the event.

“Read-Across America Book Drive” (Taunton)
This event was designed to promote reading in the community an give Council Members a fulfilling activity. A book drive was held in all homerooms and to promote the event a competition for a complimentary breakfast was designed for the two homerooms with the most books collected. The drive lasted three weeks and the numbers of books raised by homerooms were announced each day. At the end of the drive over 4,700 books had been collected. Taunton High Athletes then dressed in their jerseys and went out to local elementary schools to read for a day. Student Council Members, athletes, other students, faculty, community, and children were all involved.

“Breast Cancer Awareness Week” (West Boylston)
This event was held to increase awareness about Breast Cancer, promote safety, and raise money for research.  During a week in May posters detailing facts about Breast Cancer were hung around the school and students were asked to wear pink. Ribbons were sold and a penny war called “Change for a Cure” was held. A car-wash was also held. By the end of the week $1,525 had been raised to sponsor a council member participating in a breast cancer three-day walk. All Student Council Members, students, and faculty were involved in the week in addition to the community.